How many DIY filmmakers can shoot footage so arresting in composition and content that it could fit seamlessly in a Steven Spielberg movie? Underwater documentarian Valerie Taylor and her husband Ron did just that. The Australian filmmakers captured the footage in “Jaws” of a great white shark mauling the diving cage that supposedly held Richard Dreyfus just moments before, its powerful body thrashing against its metal bars with unrelenting destructive force. The message to the world was clear: not even steel could stop a great white on the hunt.
That’s a message Valerie Taylor, now 85, has been trying to dispel ever since. It’s a regret Australian documentarian Sally Aitken captures in her new film about Taylor’s life, “Playing with Sharks,” .
An achievement in editing together superlative archive footage, “Playing with Sharks” owes its beauty almost entirely to Valerie and Ron, who was usually the one behind the...
That’s a message Valerie Taylor, now 85, has been trying to dispel ever since. It’s a regret Australian documentarian Sally Aitken captures in her new film about Taylor’s life, “Playing with Sharks,” .
An achievement in editing together superlative archive footage, “Playing with Sharks” owes its beauty almost entirely to Valerie and Ron, who was usually the one behind the...
- 1/30/2021
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Sydney (AP) — Ron Taylor, a beloved Australian marine conservationist who helped film some of the terrifying underwater footage used in the classic shark thriller "Jaws," has died after a long battle with cancer, a close family friend said Monday. He was 78.
Taylor, who had suffered from leukemia for two years, died on Sunday at a hospital in Sydney, said Andrew Fox, who worked with Taylor on shark conservation efforts for decades.
Fox said Taylor had mixed feelings about his work on "Jaws," which terrified beachgoers but ultimately helped draw attention to the intimidating yet often threatened animals.
Taylor and his wife, Valerie, spent years filming great white sharks and trying to persuade a wary public that the much-feared creatures were beautiful animals worthy of respect. Their stunning up-close images of sharks drew the attention of "Jaws" director Steven Spielberg, who asked the couple to capture footage of a great white for his 1975 blockbuster.
Taylor, who had suffered from leukemia for two years, died on Sunday at a hospital in Sydney, said Andrew Fox, who worked with Taylor on shark conservation efforts for decades.
Fox said Taylor had mixed feelings about his work on "Jaws," which terrified beachgoers but ultimately helped draw attention to the intimidating yet often threatened animals.
Taylor and his wife, Valerie, spent years filming great white sharks and trying to persuade a wary public that the much-feared creatures were beautiful animals worthy of respect. Their stunning up-close images of sharks drew the attention of "Jaws" director Steven Spielberg, who asked the couple to capture footage of a great white for his 1975 blockbuster.
- 9/10/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Steven Spielberg's Jaws is one of my all time favorite films. I wasn't even born yet when it came out, but it is a piece of cinematic history. This is an incredible film that still continues to blow me away every time I watch it.
Jaws was released on June 20th 1975 and it gave birth to the modern day blockbuster film. It was the first film to open in hundreds of theaters across the country at the same time, and it ended up become the most successful movie of all time until Star Wars knocked it out two years later.
Had Jaws not happened I don't think movies would have been shaped the way they have over the years. Jaws has influenced almost every aspect of filmmaking and story telling. Without Jaws, we may have never seen movies like Star Wars come to the big screen. To put things into perspective for you,...
- 6/21/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
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